Gallup: Overweight Americans Suffer From More Pain

Adults who are obese report higher rates of daily pain than those who are not, according to a recent Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index survey.

The survey released Wednesday found the higher an individual body mass index, the more likely he or she is to report experiencing pain, with 44.1 percent of those with BMIs of 40 or higher saying so.

Sixty-three percent of the 1,010,762 people who responded to the survey were classified as overweight (38 percent) or obese (25 percent). Obese respondents were further classified into one of three obesity levels as defined by the World Health Organization.

BMI Classification

Obese III (40 or >) 44.1 percent

Obese II (35 – 40) 34.7 percent

Obese I (30 – 35) 27.7 percent

Overweight (25 – 30) 21.8 percent

Low to Normal (<25) 18.9 percent

Survey results are based on telephone interviews, of more than 1 million adults age 18 and older, from January 2, 2008 to June 30, 2010.